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Author Topic: Imperial V Metric  (Read 3719 times)

BrianB6

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Imperial V Metric
« on: September 18, 2021, 08:38:01 am »

I see in BBC News No 10 wants t accept Imperial measurements again.The only reason I could see to join the EU was to go metric.  %%
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Peter Fitness

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2021, 09:10:51 am »

I can’t imagine why anyone would want to go back to Imperial, it’s so clumsy. I grew up and lived with it for 29 years until we ditched it in 1966. There’s no way I would want to revert.


Peter.
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Jerry C

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2021, 09:37:17 am »

I’m working in both. I find imperial very good for mental arithmetic as no sums required. I just convert the answer into thousandths. With metric I need my calculator.


Jerry C.

roycv

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2021, 09:39:59 am »

I do not want to go back to Imperial but can't agree about clumsy!  I still use inches and feet and convert easily but I agree Rod, Poles and Perches have had their day.
But what about time units?  I sometime ago championed the micro fortnight in place of the second, it is 10 % longer and gives you a little but more time to do everything.  Also most of our packets of pills come in 14 day packs so it is coming!
Regards
Roy
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Rich griff

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2021, 10:10:12 am »

I have to admit I still think in imperial, but have to use metric.

It's best to abandon imperial but I always find myself using it.

Materials these days come in metric which can cause problems for me, it's an age thing I suppose.

I will struggle on...
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Colin Bishop

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2021, 10:47:41 am »

It rather depends on when you were educated. Those of us brought up on Imperial can mentally associate figures with actuals. I can still remember what a gallon tin of water looked like at Primary school (and how heavy it was!). But obviously we have subsequently learned to work in metric which, as has been said above, is very handy on a 'horses for courses' basis. I use a metric/imperial ruler all the time and apply whichever system is convenient to the job in hand. Imperial can be very flexible compared to metric. So we are doubly blessed!

When it comes to everyday life then then there is no going back on increasing metrication but Imperial will still be used indefinitely as it is already built into the national infrastructure and until all those old buildings and bridges are replaced then Imperial spare parts will still be needed.

Colin
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derekwarner

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2021, 11:17:55 am »

New Bridge parts ???.....the old original Drawings nominated 3/4" holes for the rivets?  %) .


Sorry Colin, the new Drawings must specify the holes be 19.05 mm dia  {-) ....cause you can't insert a 3/4" diameter rivet in a 19 mm hole, .....& inserting the same in a 20 mm diameter hole is like the proverbial p**** in a shirt sleeve


Derek
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #7 on: September 18, 2021, 12:01:59 pm »


I must admit, I use a mixture of units depends on what I'm measuring;

 for technical, I use metric only... except when estimating, then feet & inches,
 for car distances, miles or minutes / hours,
 for time, solar time & Gregorian calendar,
 weights, bags of sugar or cement bags ( old double size ones! ),

 waiting for the wife & daughter.... ice ages!

 
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Peter Fitness

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #8 on: September 18, 2021, 12:25:36 pm »

I no longer own any imperial measuring devices, rules, tapes, etc., but, paradoxically, I still think in feet and inches when it comes to a person’s height. We have been metric here in Australia for over 50 years, so a large proportion of the population have had little or no experience of imperial weights and measures.


Peter.
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Kevin.Hutch

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2021, 10:08:12 pm »

Metric is my choice, but somehow I still think boat lengths in feet, timber sizes in inches, televisions in inches, fine tolerances in thou (.001"), pressure in PSI, threads are just a blur, yet fluid in litres seems to come easy, except for tank sizes in gallons and just like my short period with a slide rule, I have trouble with the decimal point in metric. I now think in Millimetres/metres and have trouble with Centimetres, I have several rules and tapes with both inches and Millimetres.

At 75 most of my life has been metric and my cars started off French moving to British, Italian, Japanese so my tools are quite a mixture mainly A/F and metric.

Can not get my head around newton/metres, Bar or Kilopascals.

My recent foray into modeling has caused me to do a lot of conversions as all the 1940's information was in imperial and I worked in metric.
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BrianB6

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #10 on: September 18, 2021, 11:02:00 pm »

Lets face it, many of our boats are still built in imperial scales.   1/96 = 1/8" = 1 ft.  1/72 = 3/16 =1 ft.   Even Task Force 72 has not converted to Task Force 75 yet.   %%
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raflaunches

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #11 on: September 18, 2021, 11:15:46 pm »

Strangely enough I was taught metric at school only but my job on aircraft required both! Rolls Royce engines are still imperial (3/8, 5/16) but the aircraft I currently work on is purely imperial as it’s American. My classic car is all imperial AF so mainly work in imperial despite never really being taught it. I must admit I can only visualise my height and weight in imperial as well as roughly guessing how far a mile is in a car.
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Jerry C

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #12 on: September 19, 2021, 06:59:17 am »

Funny thing though, BA fasteners are metric.


Jerry C.

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #13 on: September 19, 2021, 09:30:01 am »

Having been in electronics sincethe thermionic valve, I have happily worked in both.
Even Radio Luxembourg was on 208 metres,
and the Light Programme on 1500 metres😁
The one thingI cannot get my head round to this
day, is wind speed in metres/second.
Give me 20 knots of wind over the deck and I
know what's what.
Ned.
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Baldrick

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #14 on: September 19, 2021, 09:45:51 am »

When playing skip at the bowls club I find I give the bowler info on how short or long he was in all sorts. :-  four inches short , arferyard through, metre and a bit down , 600mm more, halfway,  Makes no difference they are all deaf to what I say.
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roycv

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #15 on: September 19, 2021, 09:57:31 am »

Aha!  now you are getting onto fractions.  I do all my mental arithmetic in fractions it really is so much easier. 
I find many people do not understand percentages.
regards
Roy
 
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Jonty

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #16 on: September 19, 2021, 12:54:04 pm »

  The French still use the word livre, a pound, to signify a half-kilo, and they measure bicycle frames in pouces, thumbs or inches.
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mrlownotes

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #17 on: September 19, 2021, 01:20:44 pm »

Horses are measured in Hands and sold in Guineas.Rule Brittania.
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Bintur Ellenbach

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #18 on: September 19, 2021, 02:28:03 pm »

I think the idea of the UK using the Metric System was first discussed in Parliament way back in 1818.  But it took joining the EEC in 1973 before any action was taken, even then pragmatism held sway with a mixed system of measurements.  Now, we can safely use either. Being initially educated in the Imperial system and then having to use use the Metric one professionally, I can happily switch between both.


The Imperial system is often stated to be "illogical" but it's units can be based on quantities that are easy to comprehend.  Yes, the inch is the "width of a thumb", the foot the "length of a foot", a yard the distance between "nose and the end of an outstretched arm" (remember how lengths of material used to be measured?).  The mile goes back to the Roman Empire as a measure equal to 1000 strides. The fathom being 6 feet long was around the height of a man.  OK, some are less easy to relate to, I never got along with rods, poles and chains![size=78%] [/size]


It's when you combine these units that you often see the value of the Imperial system.  Take Stress as an example,  I can visualize a value of 80 tons per square inch but the Metric equivalent of 1.3 G Newtons isn't so easy to relate to.  This has often been the cause of problems as mistakes don't always "jump out at you" when dealing with very large or small powers of ten.


So, when building my models (or doing other jobs) I'll happily work with inches/feet or millimetres/centimetres, it's usually the materials I'm working with that dictate the units used.  But, when discussing or explaining things I try to use both systems, if only to avoid upsetting those wedded to one and only one system of measurement.
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dougal99

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #19 on: September 19, 2021, 02:40:44 pm »

Horses for course. I use both.
I was serving in Cyprus in 1975 when the RAF went metric. My local staff had no comprehension of metric. I had a long discussion with my barrack warden on the difference between 1.7 and 1.70. I know they are the same, but I couldn't convince him. In the end he used a double sided tape measure. Measured in imperial, turned it over and recorded the metric. Simples  :-))
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warspite

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #20 on: September 19, 2021, 02:55:41 pm »

Yep - it's like me saying to my self, that boat I want to build is 1.8m long, so not that long then realising that it is just 30mm short of 6 foot, cr*p how would I fit that in a small car (just been looking at a mazda 2 as a replacement)
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #21 on: September 20, 2021, 09:14:58 am »

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malcolmfrary

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Re: Imperial V Metric .... again!
« Reply #22 on: September 20, 2021, 09:19:06 am »

Horses for course. I use both.
I was serving in Cyprus in 1975 when the RAF went metric. My local staff had no comprehension of metric. I had a long discussion with my barrack warden on the difference between 1.7 and 1.70. I know they are the same, but I couldn't convince him. In the end he used a double sided tape measure. Measured in imperial, turned it over and recorded the metric. Simples  :-))
There are lots of media people who are unable to read out the difference between "1.7" and 1.07".  Guessing at their ages, they were educated in the metric era.  Most of the general public take their cues in life from the TV, so these numerical illiterates are a major influence.
Oddly, they understand the difference between £1.70 and £1.07 very well, and will be capable of pointing out the difference at considerable length if offered the wrong change.
On my tape, they are both printed on the same side, so just a case of pulling it out and reading across. 
Metric has huge advantages in simple scaling, but imperial, with its base of 12 inches to the foot, is far more flexible.  You can divide 10 by 5 or 2.  12 divides by 6, 4, 3 and 2.  And railway modellers have been cheerfully mixing units since forever when describing scales.  How many understand what they are doing, as a percentage, is anybody's guess.


And Martins chart is spot on.
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radiojoe

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Re: Imperial V Metric
« Reply #23 on: September 20, 2021, 12:05:07 pm »

Like most of you guys I have got used to using both systems using which ever one suits my purpose, during my Carpenter apprenticship I used a Rabone boxwood folding rule that only had Imperial markings, so later I bought my first "Stanley Tape" with the dual system on it and of course we have all got used to it, but even my Grandsons that range between 20 and 16 yrs. and have only been taught Metric talk of cars in miles per hour and miles per gallon, and say they are going on a 5 mile jog etc. Typical of former Governments to start something and not complete it, It's a wonder we don't have a dual currency system, mind you I still often mentally convert a price to the old school money.


Joe
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KitS

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Re: Imperial V Metric
« Reply #24 on: September 20, 2021, 12:11:56 pm »

Surely True Brits measure temperature in Fahrenheit?  :-)


We all know that 32 deg is the point at which water freezes.......
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Regards
Kit
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